Kyotaro Fujimoto
Kyotaro Fujimoto (藤本 京太郎 [ɸɯdʑimoto kʲoːtaɾoː], Fujimoto Kyōtarō, born June 23, 1986) is a Japanese professional boxer and former kickboxer.
| Kyotaro Fujimoto | |
|---|---|
 Fujimoto during a match with Solomon Haumono in 2012 | |
| Born | June 23, 1986 Osaka, Japan |
| Native name | 藤本 京太郎 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb; 16 st 1 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Fighting out of | Tokyo, Japan |
| Team | Team Dragon (2006–2010) Kadoebi Hoseki Gym[1] (2011–present) |
| Trainer | Kensaku Maeda (2006–2010) Hiroyuki Abe[1] (2011–present) |
| Years active | 2006–2011 (Kickboxing) 2011–present (Boxing) |
| Professional boxing record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 21 |
| By knockout | 13 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Other information | |
| Occupation | professional boxer |
| Boxing record from BoxRec | |
last updated on: July 24, 2019 | |
He is the former K-1 Heavyweight Champion and successfully defended the title against kickboxing legend Peter Aerts at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. He was also the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka tournament finalist and K-1 Young Japan GP 2007 champion.[2]
Early life
Fujimoto was born in Osaka, Japan on June 23, 1986. He started learning karate of Uomoto-ryū (魚本流) as a child. His parents divorced in 1997 and he lived with his mother, sisters and grandmother.
Kickboxing career
Kyotaro moved to Tokyo and joined Dragon Dojo established by Kensaku Maeda. He debuted on May 17, 2006 against Junichi Hanada.
Kyotaro entered the world of K-1 when he fought and won the K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival tournament in Tokyo by defeating Tatsunori Momose in the semi-final and Takumi Sato in the final, all by decision. This tournament was designed to showcase new talent. He then fought Kyoung Suk Kim during the opening fights at K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Seoul Final 16 defeating Kim by 2nd Round Knockout.
He further proved himself as a top K-1 contender by defeating the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Las Vegas II and the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hawaii tournament champion Mighty Mo at K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Yokohama. Kyotaro was then invited to fight in the K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka in which he became the runner up losing to Brazilian Karateka Ewerton Teixeira.
On March 28, 2009, Kyotaro won the K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Title tournament by knocking out Melvin Manhoef in semifinals and beating Gokhan Saki in finals by extra round majority decision. Kyotaro became the second fighter after Badr Hari to win the title in K-1 Light Heavyweight division.[3]
On December 5, 2009, he faced Tyrone Spong at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final and lost by unanimous decision.
Kyotaro defended his title against 3 time K-1 Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts at K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama. Kyotaro knocked Aerts down twice at the end of the 1st Round and then knocked him out with his right hook in the 2nd Round.
At the K-1 Final 16 Kyotaro defeated another legend in Jerome Le Banner. Kyotaro withstood the Frenchman's early power to give him a severe beating in the 3rd round to earn a draw. Le Banner was angry at the decision and walked out of the ring, giving Kyotaro the win by DQ.
His next fight was at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final against 4-time defending champion Semmy Schilt. He was unable to faze his taller opponent, losing by unanimous decision.
He then chose to fight the DREAM (MMA) Light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. He was knocked down in the second round and again lost by unanimous decision.
In October 2011, Kyotaro relinquished the K-1 Heavyweight title in order to pursue a career in professional boxing.[4]
Boxing career
Kyotaro debuted as a pro boxer on December 31, 2011 when he took a unanimous decision win over Michael O'Donnell in Osaka, Japan. In September 2012, he defeated Chauncy Welliver by unanimous decision, who at the time was ranked #15 in the world by the WBC.
Kyotaro took Welliver's place in the WBC top 15 as a result of this win. Kyotaro lost his next fight against Solomon Haumono via TKO in the 5th round. The fight was held at Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka on December 31, 2012. Kyotaro won his first major regional title against Willie Nasio for the vacant WBC - OPBF heavyweight title in 2017.
Kickboxing Titles
- Amateur
- 18th All Japan Shin-Karate Championships(K-2 GRAND PRIX) Heavyweight(+75 kg) tournament winner (May 3, 2007)[5]
- Professional
- 2009-2011 K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Champion (1 def.)
- 2009 K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Tournament Champion
- 2008 K-1 Japan GP in Fukuoka Runner-up
- 2007 K-1 Tryouts Young Japan GP champion
Boxing Titles
Awards
- 18th All Japan Shin-Karate Championship Gaora Award
Ring names
- Kyōtarō Ranger (狂太郎レンジャー / May 2006 - August 2007)
- Kyōtarō Ranger (強太郎レンジャー / August 2007 - January 2008)
- Maeda Keijirō (前田 慶次郎 / January 2008 - August 2009) a.k.a. Keijiro Maeda
- Kyōtarō (京太郎 / August 2009 – December 2010)
- Kyotaro Fujimoto (藤本 京太郎 / December 2011–Present)
Kickboxing record
| Professional kickboxing record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Wins (9 (T) KO's, 8 decisions, 1 dq), 5 Losses | ||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | Record |
| 2010-12-31 | Loss |  | Dynamite!! 2010 | Saitama, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 18–5 |
| 2010-12-11 | Loss | | K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 18–4 |
| 2010-10-02 | Win |  | K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16 | Seoul, South Korea | Forfeit | 4 | N/A | 18–3 |
| 2010-04-03 | Win | | K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama | Yokohama, Japan | KO (Right hook) | 2 | 1:56 | 17–3 |
| Fight for K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title. | ||||||||
| 2009-12-05 | Loss |  | K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final | Yokohama, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 16–3 |
| 2009-09-26 | Loss |  | K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final 16 | Seoul, Republic of Korea | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 16–2 |
| 2009-08-11 | Win |  | K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 in Tokyo Final 16 Qualifying GP | Tokyo, Japan | KO (Right hook) | 3 | 1:20 | 16–1 |
| 2009-03-28 | Win |  | K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama | Yokohama, Japan | Ext R. Decision (Majority) | 4 | 3:00 | 15–1 |
| Wins K-1 Heavyweight (-100kg) title. | ||||||||
| 2009-03-28 | Win | | K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama | Yokohama, Japan | KO (Right hook) | 1 | 2:02 | 14–1 |
| 2008-09-27 | Win |  | K-1 World GP 2008 Final 16 | Seoul, Korea | KO (Punches) | 3 | 1:43 | 13–1 |
| 2008-06-29 | Loss |  | K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka Final | Fukuoka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 12–1 |
| Fight was for K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka title. | ||||||||
| 2008-06-29 | Win |  | K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka | Fukuoka, Japan Semi-final | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 12–0 |
| 2008-06-29 | Win | | K-1 World GP 2008 in Fukuoka Quarter-final | Fukuoka, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 11–0 |
| 2008-04-13 | Win |  | K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Yokohama | Yokohama, Japan | Ext R. Decision | 4 | 3:00 | 10–0 |
| 2007-12-22 | Win | | AJKF "Enter the Dragon The 1st" | Japan | KO | 2 | 2:07 | 9–0 |
| 2007-09-29 | Win | | K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Seoul Final 16 | Seoul, Korea | KO | 2 | 2:14 | 8–0 |
| 2007-08-16 | Win | | K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival K-1 Young Japan GP Final | Tokyo, Japan | Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 | 7–0 |
| Wins K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival title. | ||||||||
| 2007-08-16 | Win | | K-1 Tryout 2007 Survival K-1 Young Japan GP Semi-final | Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 6–0 |
| 2007-06-03 | Win | | J-Network "Team Dragon Quest 1" | Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 5–0 |
| 2007-01-12 | Win | | MAJKF "Shidokan Spring New Year Event Breakdown-1" | Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan | KO (Punches) | 2 | 1:42 | 4–0 |
| 2006-11-05 | Win |  | M-1 "M-1 Fairtex Shingha Beer Muay Thai Challenge -Thai King's Enthronement 60th Anniversary Cup 2006-" | Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan | TKO (Right low kick) | 4 | 2:13 | 3–0 |
| 2006-09-01 | Win | | J-Network "Mach! Go! Go! '06 -Flyweight Strongest Decision Tournament 1st Match- | Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | 2–0 |
| 2006-05-17 | Win | | J-Network "Go! Go! J-Net '06 -Invading the Dragon- | Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan | KO | 2 | 1:16 | 1–0 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||
| Amateur kickboxing record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
| 2007-05-03 | Win | | 18th K-2 GRAND PRIX Heavyweight tournament Final | Adachi, Tokyo, Japan | Ippon (Awasete) | 1 | N/A | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||
Professional boxing record
| 23 fights | 21 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 2 |
| By decision | 8 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Loss | 21–2 |  |
KO | 2 (12) | 21 Dec 2019 | |
For WBO International, and vacant WBC Silver heavyweight titles |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | |
TKO | 6 (8), 2:08 | 21 Oct 2019 | |
|
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | |
RTD | 6 (12), 3:00 | 25 Sep 2018 | |
Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
TKO | 7 (12), 0:28 | 7 May 2018 | |
Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | |
KO | 5 (12), 2:50 | 4 Nov 2017 | |
Retained OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight titles |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 |  |
TKO | 9 (12), 1:22 | 9 May 2017 | |
Retained OPBF Heavyweight title Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | |
UD | 12 | 14 Jan 2017 | |
Won vacant OPBF heavyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | |
TKO | 2 (8), 2:13 | 2 Aug 2016 | |
|
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | |
UD | 8 | 2 Aug 2016 | |
|
| 14 | Win | 13–1 |  |
KO | 3 (8), 1:05 | 21 Oct 2015 | |
|
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | |
UD | 10 | 30 Apr 2015 | |
Retained Japanese heavyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | |
UD | 8 | 18 Dec 2014 | |
|
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | |
TKO | 5 (10), 0:44 | 10 Sep 2014 | |
Retained Japanese heavyweight title |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | |
UD | 8 | 30 Apr 2014 | |
|
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | |
UD | 8 | 25 Nov 2013 | |
Retained Japanese heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 |  |
TKO | 6 (10), 2:59 | 23 Jul 2013 | |
Won vacant Japanese heavyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | |
TKO | 7 (8), 1:11 | 17 Apr 2013 | |
|
| 6 | Loss | 5–1 | |
TKO | 5 (12), 0:57 | 31 Dec 2012 | |
For vacant OPBF heavyweight title |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 |  |
UD | 10 | 19 Sep 2012 | |
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | |
KO | 3 (8), 0:47 | 20 Jun 2012 | |
|
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | |
TKO | 2 (6), 0:47 | 17 May 2012 | |
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | |
TKO | 2 (6), 1:03 | 6 Mar 2012 | |
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | |
UD | 6 | 31 Dec 2011 | |
|
References
- "藤本 京太郎選手プロフィール｜角海老宝石ボクシングジム". kadoebi.com.
- Monty DiPietro. "Teixeira takes K-1 Japan GP; Schilt and Hari Also Win in Fukuoka". k-1.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- "Maeda Takes K-1 Heavyweight Belt; Bonjasky Beats Overeem". K-1 Grand Prix Website. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- Kyotaro Relinquishes K-1 Heavyweight Championship to Move Into Boxing
- "Shinkarate" 17 years old boys win at two weight divisions! Fighters from Dragon Dojo(Team Dragon) win at two weight divisions 【新空手】17歳が二階級で優勝！龍道場（チームドラゴン）は二階級制覇